HeartVision Song Contest 8
'The HeartVision Song Contest 8,It took place for the first time in Estonia following the country's firs victory at the HeartVision Song Contest 7 in Ankara,Estonia with the song "Feral Hearts" performed by Kerli. The contest was held at the Ankara Arena in Ankara,and consisted of two semi-finals on 20 December 2016 and 10 January 2017,and the final18 January 2017.The three live shows were hosted by Elina Born,Jüri Pootsmann thumb|left|250px Winner after a big and exciting show was Loic Nottet from Belgium with his the song "Million Eyes", he reached 206 Points. At the 2nd Place was Germany represent by Lena with her song "Traffic Lights",she reached 199 Points and on 3rd Place was Faroe Islands represent by Eivør with her song "Í Tokuni", she reached 108 Points. Location : Further information: Estonia Estonia (Listeni/ɛˈstoʊniə/;Estonian: Eesti ˈeːsti), officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia (338.6 km).Across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea,covering 45,339 km2 (17,505 sq mi) of land, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BCE, with Finno-Ugric speakers – the linguistic ancestors of modern Estonians – arriving no later than around 1800 BCE. Following centuries of successive Teutonic, Danish, Swedish, and Russian rule, Estonians experienced a national awakening that culminated in independence from the Russian Empire towards the end of World War I. During World War II, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940, then by Nazi Germany a year later and was again annexed by the Soviets in 1944, after which it was reconstituted as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian SSR issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on the night of 20 August 1991, during the 1991 attempted coup by the Soviets. Host City : Further information: Tallin thumb|left|276px Tallinn (/ˈtɑːlɪn, ˈtælɪn/; Estonian: ˈtɑlʲˑinˑ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland in Harju County. From the 13th century until 1918 (and briefly during the Nazi occupation of Estonia from 1941 to 1944), the city was known as Reval. Tallinn occupies an area of 159.2 km2 (61.5 sq mi) and has a population of 453,033. Tallinn, first mentioned in 1219, received city rights in 1248,but the earliest human settlements date back 5,000 years. The initial claim over the land was laid by the Danes in 1219, after a successful raid of Lindanise led by Valdemar II of Denmark, followed by a period of alternating Scandinavian and German rule. Due to its strategic location, the city became a major trade hub, especially from the 14th to the 16th century, when it grew in importance as part of the Hanseatic League. Tallinn's Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Tallinn is the major political, financial, cultural and educational center of Estonia. Often dubbed the Silicon Valley of Europe, it has the highest number of startups per person in Europe and is a birthplace of many international companies, including Skype. The city is to house the headquarters of the European Union's IT agency. Providing to the global cybersecurity it is the home to the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world. According to the Global Financial Centres Index Tallinn is the most competitive financial center in Northern Europe and ranks 52nd internationally. The city was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with Turku in Finland. Venue : Further information: Saku Suurhall thumb|left|276px Saku Suurhall is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the Haabersti subdistrict of the Estonian capital, Tallinn. Opened in November 2001, it is the largest multi-purpose hall in the country and holds up to 10,000 people. It is named after the Estonian brewery and soft drink company Saku. It generally hosts basketball games, as well as sport competitions, trade fairs, corporate events and concerts. The Saku Suurhall opened in November 2001. Since 2002, the Saku Suurhall is a member of the European Arenas Association (EAA). A total of 13,220 m² spread over four floors. Every year around 300 events take place in the hall, of which about 70 are major events. It accommodates up to 10,000 spectators, of which 7,200 are seated. The first event in the hall was the Irish dance show Lord of the Dance. Bidding phase The bidding phase for the edition kicked off one days after the results of the 7th Edition. Format The HBU has decided that in the upcoming edition there will be most likely 2 Semi-finals. In each semi-final 10 countries for the Grand Final to make a line-up of 26 competing countries (20 Semi-Final qualifers + Big 6). Voting Each country awarded 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favorite songs Semi Final allocation draw This edition, the countries that are classified from 1st to 6nd place in the Grand Final of the previous edition will be the so-called "Big 6", they will have the privilege of being in the Grand Final automatically as well as voting in the semi-finals without competing in them, this six countries are divided to vote between the two semi-finals: The draw to determine the allocation of the participating countries into their respective semi-finals took place at Turkey on 29 September, hosted by Kerli. 20 countries participated in the first semi-final, while 20 countries were planned to participate in the second semi-final. The fourty semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, which were published by the HBU on 29 September based on historical voting patterns as calculated by the contest's official televoting partner Digame. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Results Semi-Final 1 Twenty countries will participate in the first semi-final. Estonia, Poland and Ireland will also vote in this semi-final. Semi-Final 2 Twenty countries will participate in the second semi-final. Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden will also vote in this semi-final. Final The following countries either finished in the top 6 of the previous edition and therefore automatically qualify to the final of this edition or qualified from the semi-finals. = Other countries : Further information: HeartVision Broadcasting Union Countries that are active members of the HeartVision Broadcasting Union (HBU) are also eligible to participate in the HeartVision Song Contest. As in every edition, an invitation to all the members have been sent in order to confirm whether they will participate or not. The following list of countries declined stating their reasons as shown below. External links *Recap of Semi Final 1 *Recap of Semi Final 2 *Recap of Grand Final